


Strength of Iron, Heat of Forge

by heavenasunder



Category: Rune Factory 3: A Fantasy Harvest Moon
Genre: Crushes, Emotional Awkwardness, Eventual Smut, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Rating May Change
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-08
Updated: 2019-03-22
Packaged: 2019-05-03 21:01:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14577582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heavenasunder/pseuds/heavenasunder
Summary: When his forge is destroyed in a Marian-induced accident, Gaius welcomes Micah's offer to let him use his, though as Micah's crush on him becomes apparent, Gaius can't say he's in too big of a hurry to get his fixed.Written as a request from anon on my tumblr





	1. Chapter 1

Gaius was always worried when he came back from a walk to Raven telling him, “don’t be mad.” The fact that he wasn’t regularly mad made it all the worse. It had to be bad if Raven was warning him ahead of time. So as he entered the smithy, his stomach dropped as Raven greeted him in that manner, not quite making eye contact.

“What happened?” he asked, his voice already pitching just a bit too high. 

“Marian...got a little over zealous with one of her potions. Figured heating it at the forge was the only way to get it hot enough...” Raven’s voice trailed off as Gaius’ focus blurred. Marian’s potion. His forge. He didn’t know if he wanted to see the damage, but his anxiety wouldn’t let him not. Swallowing hard, he nodded to Raven, and walked into the other room. 

To call it a disaster was an understatement. The entire surface of it was covered in a thick blue goo. Parts of the forge were entirely missing, as though a very large monster came and took a very large bite out of it. Gaius’ hands fluttered across it, wanting to fix but not knowing where to start. Raven came up beside him.

“Don’t panic,” she said, in the most reassuring way Raven possibly could.

“Who’s panicking? I’m not panicking,” Gaius said, three octaves higher than normal. “I--I think I might need to sit down.” Raven brought him a chair just as he collapsed. He leaned forward in his seat, breathing too fast. Fanning him, Raven tried her best to sound steady and comforting.

“Breathe...easy,” she muttered to him. It sounded more like an order than a comfort, but Gaius did his best to steady his breathing. Too caught up in this, he didn’t hear as someone entered behind him.

“Good afternoon!” came a too familiar voice. Micah poked his head in the forge room. “Hey, what’s going on--oh Gaius.” Gaius turned to him, miserable.

“Marian broke my forge,” he said, his voice just on this side of whining. He knew he should be more mature, but Marian broke his forge damn it, he was allowed to whine. 

“Why--I mean--how did this happen?” Micah stammered, wandering farther into the room and surveying the damage.

“She tried to brew a potion in here. It blew up,” Raven explained, and Gaius focused on his breathing again.

“And these holes?” 

“She tried to disappear it away. It...disappeared the forge instead.” 

Gaius bit back a whimper. His poor, poor forge. 

“How long is it going to take you to fix this?” Micah asked, turning to Gaius. Gaius simply threw his hands in the air, a pathetic motion, mostly meaning “who knows? Not me.”

Micah turned to Raven, and Gaius closed his eyes as they talked. 

“How are you guys going to fill your orders?” he asked. Gaius could almost hear the gears in Raven’s head turning.

“We’ll have to direct our customers to other means. Unless, of course, we can find another available forge,” she said. Gaius opened his good eye, watching them both from the side.

“I have a working forge Gaius can use until you guys can set this to right.” Micah offered. Gaius sat up, startling both of them.

“For real?” he asked, hopeful. If that had been Raven’s plan, he was fine with it.

“Yeah, absolutely,” Micah responded with a smile. “Anything to help out.” Gaius all but jumped out of his chair, catching Micah in a bear hug. 

“I owe you one, big time,” he said, letting go and patting the other man on the arm. 

“No--no need. I’m happy to help,” Micah stuttered out, looking a bit pink in the cheeks. Gaius barely considered this as he turned to Raven.

“Help me get my supplies to Micah’s? I need to make something to blow off some steam.”  
\---

Days passed slowly. Although Gaius couldn’t be more grateful to Micah for allowing him access to his forge, repairing his own was taking an excruciating amount of time. It had taken he and Raven two days to begin with to wash off all the leftover potion and then, between his orders, he made missing parts for his forge, trudging down the Sharence tree with the parts, and Micah, in tow. Still, he couldn’t complain. Micah’s forge served him fine, though he couldn’t work into the night like he usually did, retiring around sunset so Micah could sleep.

Micah seemed to enjoy his presence at the least. When he came by, the other man usually dropped what he was doing to join him at the forge, watching Gaius work. Gaius, for his part, had never had an audience before, but he could talk for ages about smithing, and Micah didn’t seem to mind. He watched with a reverence Gaius had never seen before. It was strange, he had never known Micah to be so interested in it before.

Today, though, Micah had work in his fields, and Gaius worked in silence. The order was nothing special, and nothing particularly hard, but Gaius put all his focus into it. Hours passed, and his muscles ached, but he went on until Micah came up from his fields, covered in dirt and sweat and looking as tired as Gaius felt. Gaius lowered his hammer, realizing now he was breathing hard. 

“I need a bath,” Micah said and Gaius let out a breathless laugh. 

“I think I’ll join you on that one,” he replied, laying his hammer to the side. He stretched, his muscles feeling too light without the weight of it. “Been a busy day for us both.”

Micah averted his eyes but nodded. Together they made their way to the inn, looking a mess next to each other. Gaius was glad for the spare set of clothes he’d brought. He didn’t want to have to redress in his dirty clothes after washing off. 

They paid Pia at the counter and went straight to the men’s bath. Once the door shut, Gaius shucked away his clothes without a second thought, rinsing off the bulk of the dust and sweat outside of the bath before making his way into the the bath itself. He sighed as he immersed himself in the water, the heat working its way into his sore muscles. Only after he was situated did he realize that Micah had yet to even disrobe. He raised an eyebrow.

“You gonna wash up?” he asked, and Micah startled, looking down at him. He nodded once, and undressed, turning red. Figuring he must be self-conscience, Gaius only did the polite thing by closing his eyes. He felt the water move as Micah joined him, and he opened his eye surreptitiously to watch him. 

Micah was staring, and as their eyes met, he looked away, flustered. That’s when it all fell into place for Gaius. The interest in his smithing, the random blushes, the sudden modesty. Micah had a crush on him. Gaius nearly laughed out loud at his own blindness, but held himself in check.

Micah had a crush on him. 

Gaius chewed on that a moment. It wasn’t a bad idea, him and Micah. He realized he had a fondness for the other man, but his one-track mind had never wandered to the possibility of them being together. Now that he thought if it, he wouldn’t mind it at all. Micah was good looking in a soft, slim kind of way, and infinitely kind, with a quick wit and a contagious laugh. The thought of being with him made him warm, though it may have just been the heat of the bath getting to him. How to go about any of it, though, was lost on him. For all his talent at the forge, he was garbage at dealing with the subtle art of emotions. 

He rose from the bath, scrubbing himself down with soap, trying to think it all through. His forge would be finished in a couple days, and he’d have to come up with a way to keep Micah near enough while they worked it all out. He stopped cold, a basin of water just poised to rinse himself off.

Or did he?

If he drew out his repairs just long enough, maybe he could find a way to express himself. Or maybe even give Micah enough time to sort out his own feelings. Either way, it seemed like his forge was going to have to wait. He poured the basin onto his head. 

This was going to be an interesting next couple of days.


	2. Chapter 2

Pretending not to notice Micah’s crush turned out to be more difficult than Gaius first thought. Now that he knew, he was hyper aware of the other man, where he was in a room, how he stared just a little longer than was polite, the way he looked at the ground when their hands accidentally brushed. If it hadn’t been so frustrating, he would have thought it was cute. The main downside to knowing was that he was also now hyper aware of his own feelings toward Micah. It was small things, things he’d noticed before, but hadn’t struck him the way it did now, like the bubbling way he laughed, the lithe way he walked, the flutter of his eyelashes, the curl of his lips...

To say he was in deep was like saying the weather that day was “a little blustery”: a major understatement. The two of them had been shuttered in the Sharance Tree for the last four hours, and despite Gaius’ best efforts to maintain his focus on the forge, his mind wandered down the stairs to where Micah was laying on the bed. Irritably, he laid down his hammer and tumbled down the stairs. Micah craned his neck to watch him as he wandered to the window.

“It’s really not letting up, huh?” Gaius asked. The smaller trees strained against the wind as the rain decided to finally arrive. Fat droplets flew sideways into the window pane, and Gaius wondered if they’d see any lightning. 

“Doesn’t seem like it,” Micah agreed. “I wouldn’t be surprised if it lasted all night.” Gaius considered this, then sighed. He didn’t particularly want to walk home in it, but it was getting late and he probably shouldn’t wait until the storm hit in full force.

“Well, I should run then,” he said, shouldering his pack. He’d taken to leaving his hammer, but bringing a spare set of clothes and other tools with him back and forth. Micah sat up on his bed.

“You’re not thinking of going out in this?” he asked. Gaius shrugged.

“Should be fine,” he replied.

“Gaius, I can’t let you walk home in the storm. You can stay here until it passes.”

“That could be all night,” Gaius pointed out, but if he was honest with himself, the prospect of staying out of the rain and with Micah was tempting. Micah simply looked away, chewing on his bottom lip.

“That’s okay,” he said softly. Gaius swallowed hard and dropped his bag. 

“Alright,” he said. He tried to keep his mind away from the way Micah’s lips slipped out from his teeth, how it would feel to kiss them, to bite them himself. He plopped onto the floor by the bed, grounding himself. Waiting for him to make the first move was killing him, but he wasn’t sure how to even go about bringing it up. To know he was close enough to touch, that the move would most likely be welcome, but not knowing how to breach that distance was maddening. He considered going back upstairs to the forge. His fingers itched for something to do.

“Do you want some dinner?” Micah asked, pulling Gaius from his thoughts. He looked up at him and blinked, taking a moment to process the question.

“Um, yeah, sorry. Got lost in thought there for a second,” Gaius said, laughing it off as best as he could. “Do you want some help?”

“Yeah,” Micah replied. “If you want.”

Micah put him to work chopping vegetables. They chatted back and forth, and Gaius was thankful for the easy banter back. Too often these days Micah fell into a shyness around him, and Gaius couldn’t help but miss the way he was when he wasn’t overthinking himself. They finished cooking and ate dinner between jokes and rambling stories. Whatever darkness was outside had no reach on the warmth behind the door. 

After clearing their dishes, the conversation died almost as quickly as it came. Micah seemed distracted, the nervous energy that had come over him time and again since Gaius had started work at his forge had settled over him, and Gaius fought the urge to tell him to just kiss him already.

“Ah, you can have my bed for the night, if you’d like,” Micah finally said. “I’ll sleep upstairs, I think.”

“I’m not kicking you out of your own bed,” Gaius responded. A beat of silence passed.

“You know, it’s probably big enough for both of us,” he went on. As the words tumbled out, Micah turned a shade of red so deep, Gaius was sure he’d explode.

“O-okay,” Micah stammered. “I mean, if you’re okay with that.” Gaius chuckled.

“Wouldn’t have suggested it if I hadn’t,” he reassured. He stretched, yawning. Without thinking too much of it, he stripped down to his pants, and burrowed himself under the covers. He never realized how tired he was until he finally laid down, and he was asleep before Micah could even react, one hand tucked under the pillow. 

* * *

 

When Gaius woke it was still dark, and he struggled under a foggy head to figure out what it was that had woke him. He turned, bumping into something warm, and he remembered where he was in a rush. Before, he had been too tired to really weigh what it meant to share a bed with Micah. Now that it was happening, it was too much. He could feel his heat, feel the bed move with each of his breaths, smell his gentle scent, so close, close enough to reach out to and draw near. He bit his lip.

“You awake?” came Micah’s voice, soft in case he wasn’t. Gaius rubbed his eyes.

“Yeah, sorry. Don’t know what woke me,” he said. “Go back to sleep.” Micah turned to face him. 

“I really haven’t slept,” he said. 

“I can get up if I’m keeping you up,” Gaius said, rising. Micah’s hands were on his shoulders in a second.

“No, it’s not that. You can stay,” Micah said, coaxing him into laying back down. Gaius complied, but as Micah started to retreat, he took hold of his wrist, laying his hand against his neck. Micah froze.

“Look, I’m not good at subtly, so I’m just gonna say it,” Gaius said, his pulse pounding against where Micah’s fingers lay just under his jaw. “If you like me, you should do something about it, because if you don’t I’m going to lose my mind.” In the dark, Gaius’ eyes had adjusted enough to see Micah flounder. He pulled his hand up to his cheek, and kissed the inside of Micah’s wrist.

“That obvious?” Micah whispered. 

“Had to be, or I’d have missed it,” Gaius joked. “So are you going to kiss me or what?”

Micah didn’t need to be asked twice. They met in the middle of the space between them, the kiss frantic, desperate. For as long as Gaius had been pining, Micah had been longer. Gaius brought his hands to either side of Micah’s face, steadying him as Gaius turned the kiss deep, slow, and full of every feeling he could pour into it. Micah sighed into it, and Gaius’ hands wandered down to his hips, then up, sneaking under his shirt and onto his back. Micah melted into him, and gently Gaius switched their positions so Micah was over him, straddling his hips with his knees. He snaked his hands up, pulling off Micah’s sleep shirt and he broke the kiss only long enough to discard it. 

They were chest to chest, skin to skin. Gaius wrapped his arms around him, his hand cupping the back of his neck as he kissed deeper, coaxing out small moans as he brought their hips together. Micah gasped at the friction, and Gaius’ head swam. He needed more. He pulled back from Micah’s lips to kiss along his neck, one hand coming between them to palm at Micah’s length. Micah moaned, pressing his head to Gaius’ shoulder. 

“I want you,” Gaius said into the crook of his neck He felt Micah take in a breath.

“Then take me,” he gasped. Gaius smiled. It was an awkward transition as they worked to free themselves of their pants, and they laughed as they tangled in the blankets. Inelegantly, Gaius kicked his across the room, and drank in the sound as Micah shook with laughter. 

“Got the job done,” he shrugged, kissing Micah swiftly. “Hold that thought.” He tumbled off the bed to where his bag was across the room, retrieving his bottle of lotion. Smithing was rough on the hands, and he was never more happy to have it with him. He returned to the bed with it.

“Just lay back and relax,” he told Micah. “I’m gonna take care of you.”

He smeared his fingers with the lotion, sliding his hand down to Micah’s tight entrance. He worked him open with one finger, watching Micah’s face as he adjusted to it. Moving slowly against the tight heat, Gaius peppered kisses onto his hipbones, his hand steadying himself on Micah’s thigh. Carefully, he slid in another finger.

Micah arched into it, gasping. Gaius whispered praises into his hipbone, working his hand steadily to prepare him. After a moment, he slid in a third and Micah whimpered.

“Gaius, please,” he breathed. Gaius pressed one more kiss into Micah’s hip, and withdrew his fingers, taking a liberal amount of lotion on his hand, and coating his stiff length. Carefully, he lined himself up with Micah’s entrance, and slowly, gently, pushed himself in.

Throwing his head back, Micah breathed hard around him, and the combination of the heat around him and the sounds the other man was making went to Gaius’ head. He forced himself to be gentle as he slid all the way in, allowing Micah to adjust. After a breath’s time, he began to move, rolling his hips and savoring every sweet sound out of Micah’s throat. 

“You’re beautiful like this, you know,” he said with so much fondness, his chest felt tight. Micah stared at him under hooded eyes, mouth slightly agape. The dim light softened his features, and Gaius wanted nothing more to bury himself in Micah forever.

He picked up his pace, listening to Micah’s body as he thrust into him again and again. He moaned low, every nerve in him alive with desire. Micah’s back arched as his hand found the length of his cock, stroking in time with his thrusts and Gaius found he couldn’t take his eyes off him. It was almost too much, but he kept his head together, focusing on Micah’s pleasure. 

“Gaius,” Micah panted, his hands straining in the sheets. “Gaius, yes, there, please.”

Gaius shifted, using Micah’s thighs as leverage as he pounding into that spot, breathing heavily as Micah dissolved into moans and swift breaths. He chanted his name, before coming with a shout. Gaius wasn’t far behind, too lost in the way he tightened around him, the way he arched into his climax, to hold back. 

They came down from it together, Gaius slumped over him, resting his forehead on Micah’s sweat-slick chest. For a while there was no sound save for the pattering of rain and their soft breathing. Slowly, Gaius pulled out  of him, wrapping his arms around his middle and pulling him close. He pressed a kiss to his forehead, the laid his cheek atop Micah’s head. 

They stayed that way until Gaius was nearly asleep again. He was only roused when Micah shifted in his arms.

“Okay?” he asked, too tired to form a full sentence.

“Better,” Micah answered, then a beat of silence. “Do you think this is gonna be weird in the morning?”

“I don’t think so,” Gaius responded, flippantly. Micah settled.

“I really like you Gaius,” he said quietly. Gaius chuckled.

“Well, I gathered that,” he said, yawning. “I really like you, too, Micah. And I’ll really like you in the morning too, so let’s get some sleep.” He felt Micah smile into his shoulder.

“Okay. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”


	3. Chapter 3

Gaius’ forge was fixed on a Monday and by Tuesday he was at Micah’s house smithing. It wasn’t a necessity anymore, but he enjoyed someone there to talk to him while he worked on any passion projects that crossed his mind. Micah, for his part, was more than happy to have him there. He leaned backwards in his chair while Gaius worked, talking about anything that popped into his head, and Gaius laughed along, his heart full. Micah’s smile was brighter than ever these days.

Gaius was working on a pendant, something infused with healing. He worried for Micah when he went out exploring. He wanted something to protect him, when he couldn’t. Micah didn’t know this, of course. That was the purpose of a surprise. He looked over Gaius’ shoulder.

“So, what’s this for again?” he asked. Gaius blew a puff of air from his nose. Micah thought he was slick.

“I’ve told you, I’m not saying til it’s done,” he reminded him. 

“Hmm,” was all the reply he got. Micah returned to his chair. 

“It’s very pretty,” Micah said after a long pause. Gaius smiled.

“You think?” he asked. Micah nodded.

“I like the gold. You don’t work with gold enough,” Micah continued. 

“I know what you’re doing. I’m still not saying,” Gaius chided. Micah let out an exaggerated sigh.

“Fine,” he said. 

“Now hush. It’s never gonna get done it you keep distracting me.”

“That’s not distracting,” Micah said, rising from his chair. He walked behind Gaius, wrapping his arms around his neck, kissing up his jawline.

“ _This_ is distracting,” he finished. Gaius hummed, tilting his head so Micah would continue down his neck.

“That it is,” he said casually. “Think it might be time for a break anyway...”

The break lasted most of the day, but Gaius wasn’t complaining. Distractions were okay when it came to Micah, or else he’d be doing this at his own forge. The laid in bed, soft next to each other in a way that went farther than bone deep. Gaius played his fingers over Micah’s knuckles as his breathing evened.

One of these days he owed Marian a fruit basket. Or maybe he’d try one of her potions for her.

Afterall, this was all thanks to her. 

**Author's Note:**

> Written as a request for anon   
> Cross-posted to my blog heaven-asunder  
> Unedited so all mistakes are mine


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